Good Guy with a Gun #221: Reading, OH

His lawyer says he was drunk and went to the wrong house. Through a closed kitchen window. At 5:30 AM. Sure. | Original incident: June 9, 2024

These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.

Here’s another example of a deputy being “ordinary” in a good sense: A man who was in his own home, off duty, and protected his family with his personally owned firearm.

The deputy was returning home from work at about 5:30 AM and had gone down to the basement. He heard his wife call out from the master bedroom — a man had broken into the house through a closed kitchen window and entered the room with her.

That wasn’t going to fly, so the deputy ran upstairs and fought with the man. Ultimately, the deputy drew his personal weapon and shot the man in the leg.

The man fled. The deputy called 911. “I’m in my personal residence, somebody broke into my house when I got off duty and tried to attack my family,” he said. “Shots fired.”

Search dogs and drones were sent out to the area, and before long they found 26-year-old Darryl Williams. His wound wasn’t life-threatening, but his actions were life-changing: He had no prior criminal record, but he found himself charged with aggravated burglary and menacing.

Williams had some ‘splainin’ to do, and he did it through his lawyer. “So, it sounds like the allegation is that he was drunk and went to the wrong house,” his attorney said. “That’s exactly what he’s telling me, judge.”

Okay — but through a closed kitchen window?

Sources

Key sources include Local 12, WCPO 9, and WXIX Fox 19.